Armature winding machine

ABSTRACT

The hereinproposed winding machine for the manufacture of the armature winding of electrical machines comprises a device for holding the armature core in place and a mechanism for placing the winding conductor in the armature slots, actuated by air or oil cylinders of reciprocating drives; said conductor installing mechanism is made up of two moving heads, each being arranged coaxially at the butt ends of the armature core and adapted to perform reciprocating motion in respect to said armature core when actuated by the air or oil cylinder common for both the heads; each of said heads has a shell with an annular redical groove on the side facing said armature core, said groove accommodating a set of levers with a rounded front working part for installing the conductor in the armature slots; said levers are positioned in respect to the slots of said armature core by means of a bush moving within the central bore of said shell and embracing a shaft of an oscillatory motion drive; the front part of said bush has a tapered surface holding a tapered ring with radial butt end slots facing said armature core, the slot surfaces being conjugated with the working surface of said levers; a device for placing the conductors in respective armature slots and shaping the end winding parts is provided between said armature core and said conductor installing mechanism, said device being actuated from said shaft of the oscillatory rotary motion drive.

The present application is a continuation-in-part application of U.S.Ser. No. 806,859 filed June 15, 1977, now abandoned.

This invention relates to equipment used in manufacturing the armatureof electrical machines and, more particularly, to a winding machine forwinding the armature of d.c. electrical machines, mainly of automobileand tractor starters, and of the traction motors of battery-driventrucks and electrically driven cars.

The hereinproposed winding machine may find wide application in theelectrical industry for manufacturing the armature windings ofautomobile and tractor starters, traction motors of battery-driventrucks, electrically driven cars and general-purpose industrial d.c.machines. It is highly advantageous to employ the winding machine forautomatically winding the armature of automobile and tractor startersand of the traction motors of battery-driven trucks, having a windingmade of a small number of turns of round enamelled conductor mainly 1 to2.6 mm or more in diameter. The winding machine ensures a considerablerise in the efficiency of production by automatically performing themost time-consuming manual operations in the manufacture of armaturewindings and improves their quality by properly shaping the end parts ofthe armature winding.

The difficulty of mechanizing the process of winding of the armature ofd.c. machines and, in particular, of automobile and tractor starterslies in that known winding machines for the manufacture of series woundarmature coils (such as, say, the US Autolight winding machine) cannotbe utilized efficiently enough when dealing with magnet wires ofcomparatively large sizes (1 to 2.6 mm and more in diameter) since theyproduce loose armature windings with end parts of exceedingly largedimensions. This is due mainly to the fact that the magnet wire is toolarge for winding armatures by this method. Therefore, armature windingsmade of a round conductor over 1.5 mm in diameter and having a smallnumber of turns per coil (say, 2 to 4 turns) should be manufactured bysimultaneously winding the turns of the armature coils. This method ofwinding allows obtaining a sufficiently tight armature and small orderlyend winding parts at a relatively large size of the magnet wire (over1.5 mm in diameter). Therefore, it is common practice in the USSR andabroad to place the coil turns simultaneously in the core slots, aprocedure that entails a rather complicated technological cycle ofproduction of the armature winding and is accordingly performed in mostcases by hand.

Known in the art is a winding machine (cf. FRG Pat. No. 1,463,927;Cl.21d'51, 1970) for winding the armatures of electrical machines,comprising a mechanism for holding the core in place, a conductor layingappliance with a tensioning device, and a driving mechanism.

The conductor laying appliance of the above-mentioned winding machine isin the form of tubular guides through which the conductor is drawn inthe process of winding the armature. The insulation of magnet wires oflarge size (over 1.2 to 1.5 mm in diameter) is liable to get scratchedor cracked on being drawn through the guides, thus causing turn-to-turnfaults of the armature winding. Besides, the end winding parts are looseand of exceedingly large dimensions. Therefore, the known windingmachine is of limited use and serves mainly for manufacturing armaturewindings of small-size conductors (1.2 to 1.5 mm and less in diameter).

Another known winding machine (cf. FRG Pat. No. 1,025,502; Cl.21d'51,1958) comprises a mechanism for holding the core in place, a mechanismfor placing the conductor in the armature slots, and a common hydraulicdrive. The mechanism for placing the conductor in the armature slots isin the form of tubular guides through which the conductor is passed inthe process of winding. This winding machine differs from the previouslydescribed one in that it allows winding the armature of large-sizeconductors (over 1.2 to 1.5 mm in diameter).

This is accomplished by the following method of winding the armature,whereby:

the armature winding coil is divided into separate pieces of theconductor;

prior to installation of each piece of the armature winding conductor,the tubular guides travel away from the armature over a distance equalto the length of a given piece of conductor;

the conductor guides travel towards the armature and consecutively placegiven pieces of conductor in the armature slots.

According to this method, the magnet wire of the armature winding is notdrawn in respect to the tubular guides, as is the case with thepreviously described winding machine (cf. FRG Pat. No. 1,463,927).Consequently, no damage is done to the insulation of magnet wires oflarge sizes (over 1.5 mm in diameter). The conductors placed in thearmature slots are compacted by specially provided tamping strips. Thetamping strips are introduced into the armature slots after each pieceof the conductor has been set in place and remain there until theconductor guide covers a distance equal to the length of the pieces ofthe conductors of the armature winding coils. To avoid any scratching ofthe insulation and direct the conductor during its installation by theconductor guides in the armature slots, the winding machine is equippedwith a hollow slotted drum that is brought up to the armature andencloses its core prior to installation of each piece of the conductor.In this way, the winding machine makes it possible to wind the armaturewith a conductor of large size (over 1.5 mm in diameter) by theemployment of a special conductor laying device comprising the followingindividually driven mechanisms:

a tubular conductor guide mechanism;

a tamping strip mechanism;

a mechanism with a hollow slotted drum.

These individual mechanisms are linked by a sophisticated cyclichydraulic coupling system of the winding machine that calls for mostcareful maintenance and adjustment in service.

The efficiency of the winding machine is determined by the number oftechnological passes of laying off and placing the conductor in thearmature slot that have to be done. The number of passes may be quitehigh and depends on the number of turns per coil (10 to 12 passes areneeded per turn). In consequence, the winding machine is of rather lowefficiency, and the sophisticated system of control and adjustment makesthe operation of its units dynamically intricate. Moreover, the endwinding parts are of exceedingly large dimensions as the winding machineis void of elements compacting the conductors in the process of shapingthe end parts of the armature winding.

It is an object of the present invention to obviate the aforesaiddisadvantages.

The invention resides in providing a simple and reliable winding machinefor winding the armature of electrical machines, particularly ofautomobile and tractor starters, that will make it possible toautomatically perform the most time-consuming manual operations andimprove their quality due to a modified construction of a conductorlaying mechanism and a novel principle of placing the conductor in theslots of the armature of electrical machines.

Another object of the invention is to provide a winding meachine forwinding the armature of electrical machines that allows to automaticallywind the armature of electrical machines with enamelled conductors oflarge size (over 1.5 mm in diameter) and obtain the end winding parts ofsmall dimensions.

A further object of the invention is to enhance the efficiency of thewinding machine without complicating its structure.

Still another object of the present invention is to raise thereliability of operation of the winding machine.

These objects are attained by that in a winding machine for winding thearmature of electrical machines comprising a device for holding the corein place and a mechanism for placing the conductor in the armatureslots, actuated by a common drive, in accordance with the presentinvention, the mechanism for placing the conductor in the armature slotshas two moving heads, each being arranged coaxially at the butt ends ofthe armature core, adapted for reciprocating motion, and being in theform of a shell having an annular radial groove on the side facing thecore, the groove containing a set of levers with a rounded front workingpart for installing the conductor, the levers being locked in positionin respect to the armature slots by means of a bush adapted to move inthe central bore of the shell and embracing the shaft of the oscillatoryrotary motion drive, the front part of the bush having a tapered surfaceholding a tapered ring with butt radial slots facing the armature core,the slot surfaces being conjugated with the working surfaces of thelevers, and there being provided, between the armature core and themechanism for placing the conductor in the armature slots, a device forarranging the conductors and shaping the end parts of the armaturewinding.

It is of advantage to make the device for arranging the conductors andshaping the end winding parts in the form of a cup fixed to the end ofthe drive shaft and placed coaxially on the shaft of the armature beingwound. It is advantageous for the walls of the cup to be provided withslits widening towards the base of the cup, so as to form a toothed rimadjoining and extending the butt end of the armature core.

In compliance with the present invention, the hereinproposed windingmachine ensures automatic winding of the armature of electrical machineswith a round enamelled conductor of large sizes (1 to 2.6 mm and more indiameter) mainly at a small number of turns per coil (n=2-4) by themethod of simultaneously installing the conductors of all the windingcoils in the armature core slots, thus ensuring high efficiency of themachine and high quality of the winding as the mechanism for installingthe conductor is in the form of two moving heads comprising elements forinstalling and compacting the winding within the core slots actuated bythe reciprocating motion of the heads. Their combination with the devicefor arranging the conductors and shaping the end parts of the windingmade of slitted cups adjoining the butt ends of the armature andextending the latter provide for the simple constructional features ofthe units of the winding machine. The working elements of the armaturewinding mechanisms make it possible to perform the operating cycle underautomatic duty conditions and at a high speed, thus ensuring a highoverall efficiency of the winding machine.

In accordance with the present invention, the working elements of thewinding machine may be used in various installations, say, in automaticcontinuous production lines and other sets. The simple constructionalfeatures and high reliability of operation of the working elements ofthe winding machine for manufacturing the armature winding of electricalmachines make it suitable for wide use in various branches of theindustry.

The invention will now be described in greater detail with reference tospecific embodiments thereof, taken in conjunction with the accompanyingdrawings, wherein:

FIG. 1 shows the mechanism for installing the conductor and the devicefor shaping the end windings of a winding machine for the manufacture ofthe armature of electrical machines;

FIG. 2 shows part 1 of the drawing of FIG. 1;

FIG. 3 is a section view taken along line II--II of FIG. 2;

FIG. 4 illustrates the process of compacting the armature winding by theright-hand conductor installing head;

FIG. 5 is a section view taken along line III--III of FIG. 4;

FIG. 6 illustrates the process of installation of the armature windingby the left-hand conductor installing head;

FIG. 7 illustrates the arrangement of the working elements of thewinding machine for the manufacture of the armature of electricalmachines with pieces of conductor preliminary installed in thecommutator and armature core slots;

FIG. 8 is a section view taken along line VIII--VIII of FIG. 7;

FIG. 9 is a section view taken along line IX--IX of FIG. 7; and

FIG. 10 is a view along arrow A of FIG. 7.

In accordance with the present invention, the hereinproposed windingmachine for the manufacture of the armature of electrical machinescomprises a chuck 1 for clamping an armature core 2, a mechanism forinstalling the conductor made up of two (right- and left-hand) movingheads 3 (FIG. 1) arranged coaxially at the butt ends of the armaturecore and coupled by a common drive. Each of the heads 3 contains a shell4 having an annular radial groove A on the side facing the armaturecore. The groove contains hinged spring-mounted compacting levers 5, thenumber and arrangement of the latter being in accordance with the numberand arrangement of the slots of the armature core 2. The levers 5 have arounded front working part for installing the winding conductor and arelocked in position in respect to the slots of the armature core 2 bymeans of a crown bush 6, the longitudinal slits of which accommodate thelevers 5. One end of the bush 6 is within the central bore of the shell4 and the other end holds a tapered ring 7 with radial butt end slots 8facing the armature core 2, the slot surfaces being conjugated with theworking surface of the levers 5 along radius R due to the effect oflever springs 9. The shell 4 and crown bush 6 are mounted so as to beable to perform reciprocating motion along the longitudinal axis of thearmature core 2. The bush 6 embraces a shaft 10 of the oscillatoryrotary motion drive and is capable of moving over a distance f withinthe shell 4.

A device for placing the winding conductors in the respective armatureslots and shaping the end parts of the armature winding is providedbetween the armature 2 and the mechanisms for installing the windingconductors, made up of two moving heads 3. The device comprises twoslitted cups 11 placed at opposite ends of the armature core 2 and fixedto the respective ends of the shaft 10 of the oscillatory rotary motiondrive. The armature core 2 and oscillatory rotary motion drive will behereinafter described in greater detail. The cups 11 are arrangedcoaxially on the armature core 2 of the electrical machine, adjoin thebutt ends of the armature core 2 and extend the latter.

Each cup 11 (FIG. 2) has a base 12 and longitudinal slits 13 wideningtowards the base 12. The number of the slits 13 is equal to the numberof slots of the armature core 2. The slits 13 form a toothed rim at theedge of the cup 11 (FIG. 3). Each tooth 14 has parallel bevels 15widening towards the base 12 in the direction of winding of the coil.The base 12 of the cup 11 and its toothed rim 14 serve to shape the endpart of the armature winding.

In cases where the armature has a commutator (FIG. 1), the cup 11 placedat the commutator side of the armature is without a working base 12, andthe end winding part is shaped at that side of the armature solely bythe toothed rim 14.

The hereinproposed winding machine may contain the following knownmechanisms without departing from the spirit and scope of the presentinvention;

a mechanism for mounting the conductor reels;

a conductor straightening device;

a conductor tensioning device;

a cleaning device.

In this case, the winding machine will, in accordance with the presentinvention, make it possible to wind the armature of electrical machineswith the conductor unwound directly from its reel. In compliance withthe present invention, the mechanisms of the described winding machine,referred to by way of example, and the sequence of technologicaloperations of the machine correspond to the case of an armature whereinthe ends of winding conductors 17 are fixed within the slots of acommutator 16, and the conductors are arranged in the slots of thearmature core 2 (FIG. 1).

The winding machine forming the subject of the present inventionoperates in the following manner.

The armature core 2 of the electrical machine together with thecommutator 16 and the set of conductors 17 (FIG. 1) are placed andclamped in the chuck 1. Then, the cycle of automatic operation of thewinding machine is initiated and proceeds in the following manner.

First, the right-hand moving head 3 (FIG. 4) comes up to the armaturecore 2 and the compacting levers 5 press the conductor 17 towards thebottom of the armature core 2 at the end of the travel of the head 3. Atthe same time, the compacting levers 5 push the conductors into theslits 13 of the toothed rim 14 of the left-hand cup 11. This beingaccomplished, the left-hand cup 11 rotates through the pitch angle ofthe armature slots (FIG. 5), simultaneously shaping the end winding partand bringing the conductors 17 fan-wise opposite the respective slots ofthe core. This process is accompanied by the process of shaping the endwinding part by the base 12 of the cup 11 jointly with the shaping slits13.

After that, the left-hand conductor installing head 3 (FIG. 6) comes upto the armature core 2, and the right-hand head returns to the initialposition. At the very beginning of the process of installation of theconductors 17 by the left-hand head 3 the butt end slots 8 of thetapered ring 7 of the head 3 keep the winding conductors in position inrespect to the respective slots of the armature core 2 and hold theconductors in that position throughout the path of installation of theconductor during further travel of the left-hand head 3 to the right.The conductors 17 are placed in the slots of the armature core 2 withoutany particular effort or pressure being exerted on the magnet wire bythe slots 8 and levers 5. This is achieved by the smooth radialtransition R of the conductor. Radius R acts as a guide and prevents anymechanical damage to the conductor insulation. At the end of its travel,the left-hand conductor installing head 3 presses the conductor fully tothe bottom of the slots of the armature core 2 with the aid of thecompacting levers 5. This is accomplished at the instant when the bush 6is stopped together with the tapered ring 7 (the stop is not shown inthe drawing), while the shell 4 (FIG. 1) and the levers 5 continue totravel over the distance f (FIGS. 4 and 6). In this case, as well asduring the travel of the right-hand head 3 (FIG. 1) towards the core 2,the levers 5 press the conductors 17 against the bottom of the slots ofthe armature core 2 at the end of head travel due to the fact that thetapered surface of the levers 5 slides over the tapered surface of thestationary ring 7. So, the levers push the conductors into the slits 13of the toothed rim 14 of the right-hand cup 11. Then, the right-hand cup11 turns through the pitch angle of the armature slots (FIG. 6) andshapes the end winding part of the coil at the side of the commutator16. When this is done, the left-hand cup 11 returns to the initialposition.

Further on, the right-hand head 3 starts to move again towards thearmature core 2 (FIG. 1) from the right to the left, while the left-handhead moves away from the armature core 2 from the right to the left. Inthis case, the right-hand conductor installing head 3 installs theconductors 17 in the slots of the armature core 2 in the same way as wasdone by the left-hand head. The cycle is repeated as many times as thereare turns in the coil of the armature winding. In accordance with thepresent invention, only four passes are sufficient to make a coil turnby the present winding machine (in contrast to the 10 to 12 passes thathave to be performed in compliance with the known FRG Pat. No.1,025,502). Furthermore, the conductor installing head 3 (FIG. 1)comprises all necessary and sufficient elements for ensuringhigh-quality installation of the conductor in the course of a singlepass, while its combination with the cup 11 allows shaping the endwinding parts in the course of installation of the winding conductors.

Thus, in accordance with the present invention, the hereinproposedwinding machine for the manufacture of the armature of electricalmachines allows it to automatically make the armature winding of alarge-size magnet wire (over 1.5 mm in diameter) and considerablyimproves the efficiency of the process of winding owing to the combineduse of guiding elements (slots 8), conductor installing elements (slots8 and levers 5) and elements (levers 5) compacting the winding withinthe armature slots in a single conductor installing head 3 (FIG. 1). Thesequence of the necessary and sufficient technological passes madewithin the conductor installing head 3 is established automatically by asingle reciprocating drive. This greatly simplifies the constructionalfeatures of the winding machine and shortens the operating cycle ofconductor installation.

Moreover, the present invention prevents any mechanical damage to theenamel insulation of the magnet wire as the working elements of theconductor installing head 3 are in very slight contact with the wire.This feature guarantees a high quality of the armature winding.Simultaneously, the winding machine allows, in accordance with thepresent invention, shaping the end winding parts, thus obtaining endwindings of smaller dimensions and more orderly shape without anyadditional work.

The invention will now be described further with reference to a specificarrangement of the working elements within the winding machine wherein,in compliance with the present invention, the aforementioned mechanismsfor winding the armature of electrical machines are coupled to therespective drives ensuring the desired sequence of operations of theworking elements in the manufacture of armatures having the ends of thewinding conductor 17 secured in the slots of the commutator 16, theconductors being preliminary installed in the slots of the armature core2 as shown in FIG. 1, taken in conjunction with FIGS. 7, 8 and 9.

Referring to the arrangement shown in FIG. 7 the winding machine for themanufacture of the armature of electrical machines includes thefollowing:

two heads (right-hand head 3 and left-hand head 3¹) arranged coaxiallyat the butt ends of the armature core 2 and having their shells 4 and 4¹secured on brackets 18 and 18¹ which are rigidly coupled by a commonreciprocating drive comprising an air or oil cylinder 19;

two slitted cups (right-hand cup 11 and left-hand cut 11¹) arranged onopposite sides of the armature core 2 and secured to the end of shafts10 and 10¹ of the oscillatory rotary motion drives comprising gears 20and 20¹ (FIGS. 8 and 9) coming into engagement with racks 21 and 21¹respectively and operated from an air or oil cylinder 22 and 22¹.

The gears 20 and 20¹, racks 21 and 21¹, and air or oil cylinders 22 and22¹ form gear rack oscillatory rotary motion drives respectively of theshafts 10 and 10¹ provided with stops 23, 23¹ and 24, 24¹ which serve toadjust the angles of turn of the slitted cups 11 and 11¹ in differentdirections, the stops being arranged on stationary supports 25 and 25¹of a frame 26 of the winding machine. The gear 20 (FIG. 8) embraces theshaft 10 and is coupled thereto by means of a key 29. The gear 20¹ (FIG.9) is secured to the shaft 10¹ by means of a pin 30.

Mounted coaxially with the shaft 10¹ on the left-hand support 25¹ is anair or oil cylinder 27 serving as the drive of the chuck 1 (FIG. 1). Arod 28 (FIG. 7) provided coupling with the cylinder 27 and is passedthrough the hollow shaft 10¹ (FIG. 9). The left-hand end of the rod iscoupled to the piston of the cylinder 27 (FIG. 7), whereas itsright-hand end is coupled to the chuck 1 (FIG. 1).

A locking device is secured on the end of the shaft 10 (FIGS. 7 and 10)on the side facing the gear 20 provided with an elongated flange 31. Thelocking device comprises a bush 32 fitted on the end of the shaft 10.Hinged to the bush are two detents 33 pressed by plate springs 34 to thefillet of the elongated flange 31. The bush 32 is also provided with ahandle 35. The locking device serves to axially lock the shaft 10 duringthe process of winding the armature core 2, as shown in FIG. 7, andallows, by the use of the handle 35 in the specific embodiment of theinvention, moving the shaft 10 with the cup 11 away from the armaturecore 2 over a distance necessary and sufficient for removing the woundarmature from the winding machine and placing another armature blank inthe chuck (FIG. 1). The handle 35 (FIGS. 7 and 10) comprises a fork witha bevel 36 embracing the shaft 10 and adapted to be turned about an axis37 (FIG. 10) of the bush 32 through a small angle enabling control ofthe detents 33. This is accomplished in the following manner.

Force applied to the handle 35 in the direction away from the armature(from the left to the right) causes the handle to turn about the axis 37so that its bevels 36 (FIG. 7) disengage the detents 33 from the filletof the elongated flange 31 of the gear 20. Further on, force applied tothe handle 35 in the indicated direction causes the shaft 10 and cup 11to move axially away from the armature core 2. Then, the wound armatureis removed from the winding machine and another armature blank isinstalled in its place. In the specific embodiment of the invention thearmature blank is an iron pack (core) complete with a shaft andcommutator whose slots contain the ends of pieces of winding conductors,the other ends thereof being placed in the slots of the armature core.Such a blank is installed on the winding machine with the armature shaftplaced in the chuck 1 (FIG. 1) so that the slots of the armature core 2are aligned with the slits 13 of the cup 11 (FIG. 3). This beingaccomplished, the chuck 1 secures the armature core in the workingposition on the winding machine by means of the cylinder 27 (FIG. 7) andholds it in this position throughout the technological cycle of windingthe armature of the electrical machine. After the armature is installedin the working position, the cup 11 is brought to the butt end of thearmature core 2 by moving the shaft 10 axially as force is applied tothe handle 35 in the opposite direction (from the left to the right). Atthe end of the travel, as shown in FIG. 7, the shaft 10 is axiallylocked by the aforesaid locking device by means of the detents 33 whichcatch the fillet of the elongated flange 31 of the gear 20, thus holdingthe shaft 10 and the cup 11 in the position shown in FIGS. 1 and 7throughout the rest of the technological cycle of winding the armatureof the electrical machine.

In the specific embodiment of the invention bush-and-roller chains 38and 38¹ serve as stops limiting the movement of the heads 3 and 3¹ (FIG.7) in the process of winding the armature. One ends of the chains aresecured to the stationary supports 25 and 25¹, whereas the other endsthereof are secured to the tapered rings 7 and 7¹ of the winding heads 3and 3¹.

The process of winding the armatures comprises the following stages:

laying pieces of the conductors 17 in the slots of the armature core 2;

installing the pieces of the conductors 17 in the respective slots ofthe armature core 2 and simultaneously shaping the end parts of thearmature winding.

The given pieces of the conductors 17 are placed in the slots of thearmature core 2 by means of two winding heads 3 and 3¹ as they areconsecutively moved along the stationary armature core 2 by the commonreciprocating drive 19 (FIG. 7) of the heads 3 and 3¹. The sequence ofoperations to be performed in placing the conductors 17 in the slots ofthe armature core 2 has been dealt with above by reference to FIGS. 4and 6.

FIG. 4 illustrates the final position of the right-hand installing head3 with the levers 5 displaced in respect to the tapered ring 7 over thedistance f due to the fact that the bush-and-roller chain 38 (FIG. 7) isstraightened at the end of the travel of the head 3, thereby stoppingthe tapered ring 7. When this is done, the shell 4 with the levers 5(FIG. 1) mounted in its bore A is moved further to the armature core 2over the distance f in respect to the stationary bush 6 mounting thetapered ring 7. As the levers 5 move in respect to the tapered ring 7over the distance f (FIG. 4), the ends of the levers 5 close up towardsthe centre and press the conductors 17 towards the bottom of the slotsof the armature core 2 pushing them simultaneously into the slits 13 ofthe toothed rim 14 of the left-hand cup 11. In the stationary positionshown in FIG. 4 the right-hand installing head 3 remains while pieces ofthe conductor 17 are installed in the respective slots of the armaturecore 2. The process of installing the conductors 17 in the respectiveslots of the armature core 2 illustrated in FIG. 5 has been describedabove.

FIG. 5 illustrates the final position of the conductors 17 in respect tothe slots of the armature core 2, the levers 5 being shown in FIG. 5conventionally (the cup 11 is free to move through an angle α). Theconductors are installed with the armature core being stationary as theleft-hand cup 11¹ is turned through the pitch angle of the armatureslots under the action of the cylinder 22¹ (FIG. 9) of the oscillatoryrotary motion drive of the shaft 10¹ mounting the cup 11¹ (FIG. 7). Atthe end of the turn the cup 11 (FIG. 5) precisely sets the conductors 17in respect to the corresponding slots of the armature core 2 and remainsin this position until the left-hand installing head 3¹ (FIG. 7) movesfrom the left to the right placing the conductors 17 in the slots of thearmature core 2 in the indicated direction (FIG. 6). The installationprocess of the conductors 17 (FIG. 5) is accompanied by the process ofshaping (compacting) the conductors 17 in the end winding part by thebase 12 of the cup 11 (FIG. 2). The compacting occurs due to the factthat the base 12 of the cup 11 (FIG. 2) is located at the minimumpermissible distance from the butt end of the armature core 2, whichlimits the size of the end winding part of the armature of theelectrical machine. The conductors 17 are placed in the slots of thearmature core 2 in the opposite direction as the left-hand installinghead 3¹ (FIG. 7) moves from the left to the right towards the armaturecore 2 under the action of the cylinder 9. When this is done, theright-hand head 3 moves in the same direction as the left-hand one, butaway from the armature core 2 which remains stationary. The stages ofthe laying process have been described in detail by reference to FIG. 6.Referring to FIG. 6 the radial butt end slots 8 of the tapered ring 7direct and, jointly with the levers 5, place the conductors in the slotsof the armature core 2 while the left-hand installing head 3¹ (FIG. 7)moves to the right. The conductors 17 are placed in the slots of thearmature core 2 due to the fact that the radial ends R (FIG. 6) of thelevers 5 moving along the slots of the armature core 2 exert pressure onthe conductor 17, thereby pushing it into the slots of the armature core2, the exerted pressure being slight owing to the smooth radialtransition R on the ends of the levers 5. Thanks to the smooth radialtransition R, the levers 5 together with the radial slots 8 of thetapered ring 7 act as guides pressing down the conductor 17 and pushingit into the slots of the armature core 2 with slight contact pressureexerted on the conductor 17. Damage to the enamel insulation of theconductor 17 will thus be prevented in the process of winding thearmature of the electrical machine. At the end of the travel of theleft-hand head 3¹ (FIG. 7) the levers 5 move over the distance f (FIG.6) in respect to the stationary tapered ring 7, thus bringing theconductors 17 to the bottom of the slots of the armature core 2 andplacing them in the slots of the right-hand cup 11 similarly to theright-hand installing head, the action of which has been described indetail.

Further on, the conductors 17 are placed in the respective slots of thearmature core by the right-hand cup 11 operated from the cylinder 22(FIG. 8) as the shaft 10 is turned by means of the rack 21, gear 20 andthe key 29. The winding with the right-hand cup 11 is effected in themanner similar to that described for the left-hand cup 11¹. It should bestressed that in the process of installing the conductors 17 and shapingthe end winding parts of the armature of the electrical machine nodamage is done to the enamel insulation of the conductors due to thesmooth radial transitions 15 of the cups 11 (FIGS. 2 and 3).

A specific embodiment of the invention illustrated in FIGS. 7 through 10enables a clear understanding of the arrangement and interaction of theworking elements throughout the technological cycle of winding thearmature of electrical machines.

What is claimed is:
 1. A winding machine for the manufacture of anarmature winding for an electrical machine on an armature core having alongitudinal axis, opposed butt ends, and armature slots extendingbetween said butt ends, comprising:drive means including a drivingshaft; a device actuated by said drive means comprising a chuck forclamping the armature core; a conductor installing mechanism actuated bysaid drive means and comprising two moving heads, said heads beingarranged coaxially at opposite butt ends of said armature core: meansfor imparting a reciprocating motion to said heads along the axis of thearmature core; each of said heads having a shell with a central bore anda circular radial groove on the side facing a corresponding butt end ofsaid armature core; a plurality of levers each having a rounded workingpart for installing the conductor, said levers being accommodated withinsaid circular radial groove; a bushing corresponding to each head forpositioning said lever with respect to the armature slots, said bushingbeing slidably mounted for movement within said central bore of saidshell of the head and in engagement with said drive shaft, said bushinghaving a tapered surface; a tapered ring affixed to said tapered surfacewith radial butt end slots facing said armature core, surfaces of thebutt end slots being in alignment with the working surfaces of saidlevers; and a device disposed between said armature core and said headsof said conductor installing mechanism for distributing the conductorsamong the respective armature slots and shaping the end winding partsthereof adjoining said butt ends of said armature core.
 2. A windingmachine according to claim 1, wherein the device for distributing theconductors in respective armature slots and shaping the end windingparts of the armature winding comprises cups fixed coaxially at the endsof said drive shaft and coaxial with said armature core, the walls ofeach of said cups having a base and slits widening towards said base soas to form a toothed rim adjoining a butt end of said armature core.